The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Percival gestured reassuringly for Vivienne to walk in.

Griffin didn’t give a damn, shot Audrey a glowering look, and shoved open the door to let Vivienne in, “Grandpa’s in your hands now, Vivienne.”

Vivienne stumbled a bit from the push. Thankfully, her footing was solid, or she might have ended up face-first on the floor.

Talk about unexpected. No wonder she caught Leopold’s eye. Both of them had a way of taking you by surprise.

…

Meanwhile, Kala was holed up at home.

When Darren got back from wrapping up some work outside, he walked in to find her chilling and watching TV, “Kala, you alright? All that online drama sorted out?”

Kala popped a potato chip into her mouth, “Not even close.”

“So, you’re just… chilling?”

How could she be so laid-back?

Ronald came out of the kitchen with a fruit bowl in his hands. “Don’t mind her. She’s been like this since she got back from the studio. Vivienne called earlier. The agency’s taking over the whole mess, told her to take a few days off. Kala’s over the moon.”

“Well, she’s happy, at least.”

Darren was exasperated. “The agency’s swamped. Ramona came prepared; high-def videos are all over the net, and the trolls are practically crashing the platforms with their venom.”

As he spoke, he couldn’t even understand. “I’m baffled, really. What’s your beef with Ramona that she’d set up such a scheme to target you?”

“She’s not after me.” Kala finally tore her gaze away from the screen. “She’s trying to drive a wedge between me and Vivienne, though I can’t fathom her endgame.”

“But she’s a lousy actress,” Kala spread her hands dismissively, “I’m not falling for such a cheap trick.”

thought you were gonna be

more than enough of the videos online. “This Ramona chick, she came

dropped from the sky. People in the biz first thought she had some kind of backing, but

was neat and tidy: parents were just regular company

about her. Her sudden rise to fame in the cutthroat entertainment industry was baffling, not just to others but even to Darren, who didn’t normally cross paths

after hearing Darren’s take. “Seems like our adversary isn’t afraid of us

agreed, “What’s more, whoever is behind her has been laying the groundwork for a while now.

organization?” Kala was

time Vivienne came to talk to Ronald, they kept their conversation private in his

and was largely in

curiosity was piqued. “Vivienne’s been out of touch for ages. Are you guys into something I don’t know

a loss for words. Revealing anything might blow his

of irritation for his loose lips, he switched off the TV and ushered Kala to stand, “It’s nothing. What could we possibly be keeping from

…

Meanwhile, at CK Penitentiary.

was a bed, a desk, and even a coffee table set with coffee paraphernalia, indistinguishable from those outside, with the serene scent of coffee pervading the small space. Not a

from the notorious GTO organization, who should have been resting in an unmarked grave, was sitting calmly at the coffee table. His wrists and

was alive, his face

anyone were there, they’d see his eyes weren’t focused at all. They were cold,

a machine. A flawed prototype of the androids developed by Ronald, capable of mimicking human actions and voice

solely due to

decoy might draw

would risk their life for someone who might not even

and Anna laughed at his fanciful thinking, saying he

android following commands. And CK wasn’t really

had survived a series of unfortunate events remained there, with the surveillance team having lost all hope and Leopold having

today, it seemed like there was